Posts Tagged With: Sports

Most of the time, when I’m super excited about anything, it turns out to be a big disappointment. Never in a million years would I have guessed that the toboggan run that made me decide to go to Oslo was going to be better than I could have ever imagined as it was like a real life version of Mario Kart. Mario Kart is the only way I can describe the awesomeness that is this toboggan run. Yes, this is the game that made me spend summers inside and gave me a reason to hook up a Nintendo to the big screen (I’m going with perks of film school if you have any lingering questions about that comment). Basically, the toboggan run in Oslo is a 2km sled run that is located next to the original bobsleigh run from the 1952 Olympic Games. If you already have a sled, you get off at the last metro stop and go downhill as fast as humanly possible until you get to another metro stop visible from the run. After that its a vicious cycle of hopping on and off the metro with a little tobogganing squished in the middle.

Zooming ahead of the pack!

If you’re a tourist like us, there’s a sled rental place that is located at the top of the run and the helmet is thrown in for free. A word to the wise, it is a good idea to take advantage of this freebie as there is no controlling your sled or anything that is happening around you. Throughout the time that I participated in this tobogganing ritual, I managed to take a sled to the back (massive bruise), hit another sled before flipping over my sled and his (badly bruised ankles, calves…well legs in general), hit a snowbank with my head, fell into deep snow where I thought I was going to get buried, and may have possibly lost my sled (I refuse to go into that sorted story). My Aussie mate didn’t do much better as she broke a shoe, lost a glove, and has just as many deep bruises as I do. Despite the aches and pains, this was an experience that was definitely worth it and just got better as nightfall approached. As the sun went down, the run became a block of ice with deep bumps which allowed you to catch some decent air as you made your way down at top speeds. Words cannot describe how amazing I thought this experience was and in my opinion, this is one of those things that everyone needs to try once in their lifetime!

We’re cup bound!!! Its Game Day!!! I’m not surrounded by a sea of blue and green with fans going absolutely nuts all around the city…WHAT! So it turns out that even though I’m still in a Canadian city – its just not Vancouver. For some reason I expected the entire country to be a sea of blue and green to support the Canadian team in the Stanley Cup Finals. SHOCKING…I know! But no matter – I’ve found a bar and hanging out with the best of them to see Game 1 of the finals.

We may not be in Rogers Arena but we’ve got beer…we’ve got nachos…we’ve got heart! I’m surrounding by amazing people and even the groom-to-be (it may just be days before the wedding but this was a well deserved break from a little speech writing if I do say so myself!) It’s a nail-biter but the Nucks take Game 1 and everyone starts to hoot and holla – well maybe it was just us and the other table full of Vancouverites but as far as I’m concerned that’s everyone at the bar as we’re the only ones that count!

It’s strange as there’s a part of me that would give up anything to be in Vancouver at this moment but I look around at my posse of misfits and know that this is where I’m meant to be. I’m finally amongst friends (and not the starter kind) and that in itself it as good as win.

As summer is just around the corner, it seems only fitting to start working on my fatitude. My twin from another mother and I have a buddy system worked out where we’re teaming up in order to avoid looking like beached whales on the beaches of New Zealand. So with a partner in crime by my side, all that was left was to put together a game plan to work on our fitness.

As travelling is one of our top priorities – we were trying to think of ways not to sink a lot of dough to get fit. Paying for a gym membership was out of the question but where we lucked out is that my building has a “gym”. The equipment is not great by any stretch of the imagination but there’s two working treadmills and a swimming poolwhich is enough for us to start on our fitness plan. The plan: we’re on the treadmills for about 30 minutes and then change and dive into the pool for another 30 minutes.

Then there’s the other side – diet. This is the part of the “Fatitude Ge Gone” plan where we’re both willing to put in some money. Back in my bikini bootcamp days, I was eating somewhere between 6-8 small meals a day with the right portions of carbs/protein per meal and drinking atleast 8 glasses of water. As I find it somewhat challenging to eat in the same manner in New Zealand (don’t get me started on grocery shopping and food here) as to what I was used to in Canada, I’ve come up with a new diet regime – eat only real food. Nothing processed. Whole grains. Enough fruits and vegetables as well as the proper servings of protein in a day. Of course there’s the 8 glasses of water that I’m trying to consume as well. Fingers crossed that this plan will do a Canadian body some good.